Worcester Racecourse is a

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

venue located in the city of

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

.''

British Racing and Racecourses ''British Racing and Racecourses'' () published in 1971 with a first print run of 10,000,''Mum's the word for this lady racing expert'' Evening Telegraph – Tuesday, 16 March 1971 was written by the female equestrian writer, Marion Rose Halpenny, ...

'' () by

Marion Rose Halpenny Marion Rose Halpenny is an equestrian writer and horsewoman, born in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, and known as the ''Lincolnshire turf authoress'',Your Chance for some horse trading – Racing by Geoff Ford – Evening Telegraph – Tuesday, 29 January ...

- Page 247 Horse racing has taken place here since at least 1718. It staged

Flat racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

until 1966 but has since staged

National Hunt racing In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

only. It is popularly known by Worcester residents as 'Pitchcroft' and is just short of 100 acres. From 1893 the Worcester Rugby Club played on ground enclosed by the racecourse for a number of years. In 1902 Berwick Rangers and Worcester Rovers football clubs amalgamated taking the present name of

Worcester City F.C. Worcester City Football Club is an English football club based in Worcester, Worcestershire. The club play in the Midland Football League, the ninth tier of English football. Established in 1902, the club play at Claines Lane. Worcester City's ...

playing on an enclosed area of the racecourse called Severn Terrace (behind the present Swan Theatre) until the start of the 1905 season. The course is laid out as a left handed oval circuit of about 13

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hors ...

s (approximately 2,615 metres) in length, with nine fences (five down the back straight and four in the home straight) and situated by the east bank of the

River Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...

and the north side of Worcester Bridge. During the

2007 floods 2007 floods may refer to: * 2006-2007 Malaysian floods * 2007 United Kingdom floods * 2007 South Asian floods * 2007 Sudan floods * June 2007 Hunter Region and Central Coast storms * 2007 Midwest flooding in the United States * 2007 Mozambican fl ...

, the racecourse was inundated and all the fixtures after June 30 had to be cancelled. BBC - Hereford and Worcester - No racing at Worcester
(Accessed 02 Aug 07)

References

External links

Official websiteCourse guide on GG.COMCourse guide on At The Races
Horse racing venues in England Sports venues in Worcestershire Sports venues completed in 1718 1718 establishments in England Sport in Worcester, England {{England-horseracing-venue-stub